(JTA) — Natalie Portman said she wouldn’t attend a prize ceremony in Israel because of her feelings about its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and “atrocities” committed on his watch, but emphasized that she would not shun Israel itself. More...

Israel’s covert war with Iran became overt when, in a clear escalation, Iran sent an armed drone into Israeli territory in February.
Then Israel wiped out most of Syria’s air defenses after an Israel Air Force fighter jet was shot down. And now, after Israel reportedly struck the T-4 base in Syria and killed several Iranian personnel, Iran is threatening to retaliate. More...

When Rabbi Ed Rosenthal, founder of the Scubi Jew scuba diving program at Eckerd College, got a call from the Hillel program director at the University of Arizona, asking about starting a Scubi Jew chapter there, Rosenthal’s reaction was, “Dude, you live in the desert.” More...